Improvement in fastenings for ornaments on dress



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

D. E. HOWELL, 0E NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENTIN FASTENINGS FOR ORNAMENTS ON DRESS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,390, dated May 5, 1863.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, D. B. HOWELL, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fastenings for Military, Masonic, and other Ornaments, Regalia, &c. and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a top view of a masonic shoulderstrap constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a side view ofthe spring-plate which is inserted within the strap and which with its attached pins constitutes the principal feature of my invention. Fig. 5 is a face view ofa plate of similar character, suitable for an or' nament for a hat.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresp lndin g parts in the several gures.

This invention is more especially adapted for masonic or other ornaments or regala which are to be attached as occasion may require to an ordinary dress, but is also applicable to ohcers shoulder-straps or other military or naval ornaments. Its object is to provide for the convenient attachment and detachment of such articles; and to this end it consists in insel ting within them plates of spring-steel, having attached pins or hooks which may be sprung into the garment and held therein by the elasticity of the plate.

To enable others toapply my invention to use, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

The plate A, of spring-steel, is of a form to correspond with the shoulder-strap or other article in which it is to be used, and is set so that in its normal condition its curvature corresponds with that ofthe form ofthe person or garment on which it is to be worn. Itis made of a thickness to enable it to be easily bent,

and it is inclosed in the ornament by sewing or otherwise securing over its edges the cloth or other material of which the ornament is partly composed, as shown in Fig. 2, where the plate is tinted blue.

The pins a a (shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5) are secured to the ends of the plate by soldering or otherwise, being set to form a continuation of the profile of the plate as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. They are made sharp-pointed and protrude through the exterior of the ornament to as great a length as may be desirable to secure it'to the garment. The orna ment thus constructed is attached to the garvment by first inserting into the latter the pins a aat one end, then bending the ornament with the fingers to bring the points of the pins at the other end sufficiently nearer to the end rst mentioned, and inserting the said points into the fabric of the garment, and afterward allowing the ornament to be brought back to its normal condition by the spring-plate, which thus secures it and keeps it secured while the ornament is on the person, as it cannot be removed without bendiug it to make the points of the pins at one end come nearer to the points ofthe pins at the other end.

The plate for the hat ornament shown iu Fig. 5 only differs from that shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3 in its form, the form of the plate always corresponding with the form of the ornament.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of a spring-plate, A, and pins a a, applied to a shoulder-strap or other ornament, substantially as and for the purpose herein specied.

D. B. HOWELL.

Witnesses M. S. PAETRIDGE, GEo. W. REED. 

